The present invention relates to a multi-piece solid golf ball composed of a core, an envelope layer, an intermediate layer and a cover that have been formed as successive layers. More specifically, the invention relates to a multi-piece solid golf ball which has a good flight performance, a good durability to cracking and a good scuff resistance.
A variety of golf balls have hitherto been developed. Of these, multi-piece solid golf balls wherein the hardness relationship between an intermediate layer encasing the core and a cover layer has been optimized are in wide use. In recent years, important elements in assessing ball performance include not only the flight performance, but also the durability of the ball to cracking and the scuff resistance—which is the ability to suppress burr formation on the ball surface. Designing the thickness, hardness and other properties of the respective ball layers in such a way as to maximize these desirable effects is another major challenge. Also, with regard to the use of golf balls, in addition to professionals and other skilled golfers, use by amateur golfers having a relatively low head speed is common. Hence, there exists a desire for the development of golf balls which, even when used by amateur golfers, enable a sufficient distance to be achieved.
Art relating to multi-piece solid golf balls is disclosed in, for example, JP-A 2001-218872, JP-A 10-328325, JP-A 10-328327, JP-A 10-328326, JP-A 11-4916, U.S. Pat. No. 6,994,638 and JP-A 2000-61000.
However, these multi-piece solid golf balls leave something to be desired in terms of achieving a low spin rate on shots with a driver, and moreover do not always have sufficiently good ball properties such as durability to cracking and scuff resistance.